Netanyahu says a cease-fire deal would only delay 'somewhat' an Israeli military offensive in Rafah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says an Israeli military offensive in the southernmost city of Rafah could be โdelayed somewhatโ if a deal for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is reached.
Egypt invites Hamas, Palestinians, Israel for further talks
Egypt has invited Israel, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority for separate talks that aim at consolidating the cease-fire that ended an 11-day war between Israel and the Gaza Stripโs militant Hamas rulers, an Egyptian intelligence official said Thursday.
Abbas decrees first Palestinian elections in 15 years
FILE - In this May 19, 2020 file photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads a leadership meeting at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abbas has issued a decree setting parliamentary and presidential elections for later this year, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Elections would pose a major risk for Abbas' Fatah party and also for Hamas, which welcomed the decree. Abbas' Palestinian Authority is confined to the occupied West Bank, where it administers major population centers according to agreements with Israel. The decree sets a timeline in which legislative elections would be held on May 22, followed by presidential elections on July 31 โ the first since Abbas was elected to a four-year term in 2005.